Really disappointed in the transportation

[Zippa D Doodah]

When I was at MK last week I saw a bus queue on the way to my Pop Century queue that people were getting on to go to TTC instead of using the Ferryboat or monorail.

Yes, I think at busiest times they offer buses to get to TTC

 

[MillauFr]

Reading this thread is making Disneyland look better and better all of the time. Stay offsite and only a 10 minute walk to the front gate.

 

[Minnesota!]

We have been 40+ times in the last 20 years and I disagree - I think it is better than it ever was. We rarely wait for busses - 5 - 10 minutes, max. There was ONE bad wait last trip - from BW. It was ridiculous, really, but didn't sour us, at all.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

After doing an experiment about 7 yrs ago and my husband wait 40 minutes for me to arrive at the resort after he drove the rental car back to the resort. We both left Epcot together and it took me 40 minutes! That was a lot of wasted vacation time. We did it again and the 2nd time was 30 minutes. Since then we always use the rental car. If you are there for a week you can easily spend 8-10 hrs of your vacation taking the bus!

 

[snappy]

After doing an experiment about 7 yrs ago and my husband wait 40 minutes for me to arrive at the resort after he drove the rental car back to the resort. We both left Epcot together and it took me 40 minutes! That was a lot of wasted vacation time. We did it again and the 2nd time was 30 minutes. Since then we always use the rental car. If you are there for a week you can easily spend 8-10 hrs of your vacation taking the bus!

Yea and you are guaranteed a seat in your rental car lol.

 

[seashoreCM]

... and my husband wait 40 minutes for me to arrive at the resort after he drove the rental car back to the resort. We both left Epcot together and it took me 40 minutes! ...!

Which was true?

A. When [I.] got back to the resort I met [my] husband on the bus platform just outside the food court and he exclaimed, "Honey, I have been standing here twiddling my thumb for 40 minutes!"
B. As [my] husband and [I.] separated after leaving Epcot, [I.] looked at [my] watch. He disappeared towards the tram station while [I.] headed for the bus platforms. ... When [I.] met [my] husband at the resort [I.] looked at my watch again. Forty minutes had passed.
C. (other; describe if you please/wish/remember)

(I have lost count of trips I made but sometimes I both stayed on site and had a rental car. For on site stays I always took the bus to theme parks although I drove to water parks so I could leave things and unneeded clothing in the car. For off site stays I always drove instead of use hotel shuttles.)

PSA: Finish cooling down the car seat with your hands before strapping Baby in.

 

[maxiesmom]

After doing an experiment about 7 yrs ago and my husband wait 40 minutes for me to arrive at the resort after he drove the rental car back to the resort. We both left Epcot together and it took me 40 minutes! That was a lot of wasted vacation time. We did it again and the 2nd time was 30 minutes. Since then we always use the rental car. If you are there for a week you can easily spend 8-10 hrs of your vacation taking the bus!

For me not having to drive is part of the vacation. I've been to WDW enough that I don't feel I have to always go go go. Sometimes it is nice to have a bit of time to decompress.

My sister likes to have a rental car, and I have no problem going along with it. But the idea that you just hop in you car and go is a myth. I have found it is more like this:

Hike out to where you car is parked at the resort. Drive to park. Park where directed, then walk to the shuttle stop. Wait thru a couple shuttles before actually boarding one. Then get dropped off at the park. Repeat when leaving. But now your car is oven hot, and you are tired, and now you have to fight the traffic. All of that takes time too. It isn't as if your car is right outside of the gates, and then you hop in and go. Especially not true at the Magic Kingdom.

I get wanting to have a car, but it isn't instant transportation either.

 

[saturn5]

I have a friend there right now and she is very disappointed with the number of empty buses with drivers watching/waiting on the sidelines as the lines of people waiting were extremely long. Lines with multiple scooters, knowing there would be need for multiple buses to accommodate them.
Not blaming the drivers because I know they are only doing what they are told to do. But why aren't they dispatched instead of accumulating and waiting? Especially within view of the people waiting?

If I remember this correctly, the dispatchers are dispatching in an order that the computer program says to do. Disney has had issues with that program at times, which can cause the backup. I have stayed at SSR and have had horrible bus service, when other deluxe resorts are getting double the buses. Every time it just doesn't work in my favor i guess!

 

[snappy]

Had the same thing happen one morning at the Dolphin, waiting for a bus for AK. Took more than an hour. Others waiting left and did uber/lift. We waited it out but it took a lot longer than we imagined. Things got backed up too during the same vacation when the monorail went down for 5 hours. We were stuck on a bus for more than an hour in the evening. We regretted going to MK that evening.

 

[ErinAlb]

Reading this thread is making Disneyland look better and better all of the time. Stay offsite and only a 10 minute walk to the front gate.

Yeah, I'm in shock at what I'm reading on this thread. I haven't been to WDW before, and now I feel sick about how much is being spent to stay onsite. My brother wanted to stay off-site, but the rest of us talked him out of it — mostly for the "convenience" of the transportation and benefit of EMHs (which all got pushed up to 7 a.m., which I guess means we have to be at the bus stop before 6 a.m. to enjoy it, based on unpredictable bus times?). It didn't even occur to me that we'd have to build in more than 15-20 minutes for in-park transportation. I figured, It's Disney, you're spending the big bucks so they take good care of you, surely there will be a continuous flow of shuttles, surely this basic component of park operations will be dialed in.

Now I'm reading: An hour? Ninety minutes? Simply expect the transportation you paid a hefty premium for not to show up for 40 minutes? (The implication: If you're disappointed to waste hours of an expensive vacation at sweltering bus stops, you're being an unreasonable brat.) Sorry to be negative, but this is like the nth complication in this herculean planning process. Disneyland last year was absolutely lovely. One of the most thrilling surprises in all of my travels, ever. And so much less money for so much more ease. 5-10 minutes walk to the gate, parks right next to each other (among other things that were easier).

I'm just glad I read this because my family would be totally blindsided. We'd be missing dinner reservations and ditching plans left and right. We wouldn't be prepared to keep small children from melting down during long, hot lines when they're hungry and tired, just for a "convenient" bus ride. We would have assumed that an operation that requires food and attraction reservations to be scheduled months in advance also would have some semblance of a schedule for guests to get there, after they were promised transportation as a perk.

 

[MillauFr]

Now I'm reading: An hour? Ninety minutes? Simply expect the transportation you paid a hefty premium for not to show up for 40 minutes?

A direct result of extremely poor planning by the Disney Corporation when they built DisneyWorld.

 

[ErinAlb]

A direct result of extremely poor planning by the Disney Corporation when they built DisneyWorld.

I'd feel a lot better about that mistake if the marketing for onsite lodging honestly reflected the need to secure other transportation to reliably make it to an in-park destination at a certain time. I'm sure the hotel is very nice and I'm very much looking forward to our resort days. But the no-hassle transport was a major selling point for my family. Now I'm pretty sure my brother will be driving to-from the parks and I'll be booking Lyfts to get rid of this problem. We can't be hauling a small child out of bed at the equivalent of 3 a.m. to make any use of our promised EMH benefit. We're going to an amusement park, not summiting Everest.

 

[jdisnut]

Yeah, I'm in shock at what I'm reading on this thread. I haven't been to WDW before, and now I feel sick about how much is being spent to stay onsite. My brother wanted to stay off-site, but the rest of us talked him out of it — mostly for the "convenience" of the transportation and benefit of EMHs (which all got pushed up to 7 a.m., which I guess means we have to be at the bus stop before 6 a.m. to enjoy it, based on unpredictable bus times?). It didn't even occur to me that we'd have to build in more than 15-20 minutes for in-park transportation. I figured, It's Disney, you're spending the big bucks so they take good care of you, surely there will be a continuous flow of shuttles, surely this basic component of park operations will be dialed in.

Now I'm reading: An hour? Ninety minutes? Simply expect the transportation you paid a hefty premium for not to show up for 40 minutes? (The implication: If you're disappointed to waste hours of an expensive vacation at sweltering bus stops, you're being an unreasonable brat.) Sorry to be negative, but this is like the nth complication in this herculean planning process. Disneyland last year was absolutely lovely. One of the most thrilling surprises in all of my travels, ever. And so much less money for so much more ease. 5-10 minutes walk to the gate, parks right next to each other (among other things that were easier).

I'm just glad I read this because my family would be totally blindsided. We'd be missing dinner reservations and ditching plans left and right. We wouldn't be prepared to keep small children from melting down during long, hot lines when they're hungry and tired, just for a "convenient" bus ride. We would have assumed that an operation that requires food and attraction reservations to be scheduled months in advance also would have some semblance of a schedule for guests to get there, after they were promised transportation as a perk.

Staying on-site is a wonderful luxury, especially if a deluxe hotel is in your budget. There are real advantages from a transportation standpoint if you stay at the Contemporary or the Polynesian or the Beach Club. But from a financial standpoint, I'd have trouble justifying why somebody should stay at some of the lower-tier Disney hotels. They're wonderful. You will have a fantastic experience. They're also extremely expensive for what you receive, especially when you compare how cheap and nice off-site properties are. In many cases, you could stay at a better hotel off-site -- and add the price of a rental car -- and still spend less than a Disney moderate hotel.

That said, for many people, being ensconced in the magic is part of the experience, and I'd never tell somebody he or she was wrong for choosing a Disney on-site hotel. I just think it's important to have realistic expectationsabout what you actually get for your money.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'd feel a lot better about that mistake if the marketing for onsite lodging honestly reflected the need to secure other transportation to reliably make it to an in-park destination at a certain time. I'm sure the hotel is very nice and I'm very much looking forward to our resort days. But the no-hassle transport was a major selling point for my family. Now I'm pretty sure my brother will be driving to-from the parks and I'll be booking Lyfts to get rid of this problem. We can't be hauling a small child out of bed at the equivalent of 3 a.m. to make any use of our promised EMH benefit. We're going to an amusement park, not summiting Everest.

You need to realize that WDW is not small. The property itself covers 40 square miles. It is not always quick to get from one place to another, where you want to be isn't always close to where you need to go.

If you thought there was immediate bus service to everyplace, then I'm not sure what gave you that idea. It is not true. Disney aims to have a bus to your resort every 20 minutes, and they do a pretty good job of it. If you are trying to use the bus at park open or close you may need to wait thru a couple buses for one you can get on. Which adds to the time. Again, look at the size of WDW, and keep in mind that the buses need to travel on highways and roads used by more than just Disney buses. They do run into traffic back ups and accidents. It happens. The bus system isn't perfect, but it is pretty darned good.

As to all the complaining on here, take it in but don't give it more weight that you should. For every negative post on this site there are probably thousands who had no trouble on their vacation. That is the way message boards work. People are way more likely to post negative than positive. If the buses were that bad thousands upon thousands wouldn't ride them every day.

Oh, and if you book any ADRs the web site will tell you to allow 90 minutes to make it there. That is just in case you miss a bus and have to wait for the next one. I will tell you ADRs at other resorts are the one time I do use taxis to get around. It saves a lot of time!

 

[maxiesmom]

ErinAlb--I want to suggest you do a bit more research into transportation around Walt Disney World. It is huge, and there are a lot of different details and options to know. Even driving takes a bit of time, as you don't just have the drive. You then have to get thru the gate, park where you are directed to, and then (unless you get lucky and park super close to the gates) shuttle in to the park. And that may mean waiting thru a few shuttles to have one with room. Which can take a bit. At the Magic Kingdom you would have to park, shuttle, and then boat or monorail in to the park. And that takes a good bit of time too.

If you have any specific questions on getting from A to B, don't hesitate to ask! We are all here to help!

 

[maxiesmom]

Reading this thread is making Disneyland look better and better all of the time. Stay offsite and only a 10 minute walk to the front gate.

Disneyland is a totally different animal size-wise.

 

[RaySharpton]

I love using the Walt Disney World Transportation System.

I can use the Disney Magical Express that has a wheelchair lift to take me to my Walt Disney World Resort.

They take my checked luggage from Atlanta and it shows up in my resort room.

I can take Walt Disney World Bus from my resort to the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney Hollywood Studios, and Disney Springs and back to my resort because they have two spaces to tie down my wheelchair.

Sure I may have to wait sometimes if there are more than two other wheelchairs or mobility scooters in line ahead of me as I see others that came after me standing in line walk onto the bus.

Sometimes I may have to wait for two buses.

But you know what?

I am on vacation and I love the way that Walt Disney World tries to make so many things accessible for me.

I don't own a car and I use Atlanta's mass transit buses and trains, so I am familiar with using this transportation.

I wonder how many guests visit that don't use their home city's mass transit on a daily basis because they live in a suburb and they use their one or two cars to get around?

I can use the Walt Disney World Monorail system with Disney cast members helping me by manually placing a ramp down to allow me to drive onto and off of the Disney Monorail.

I can travel by all but one of the Walt Disney World water taxi boats. The very small one has steps and I can't use those.

But I can use the larger water taxi boats and pontoon water taxi boats.

It is so nice to have that option and not to order a taxi whenever I want to go somewhere on Walt Disney World property.

I like the attractions and any Walt Disney World queue line that allows me to walk in line with everyone else until I get to the front row where there is usually a gate or chain to exit for a place for a wheelchair or mobility scooter to wait for the bus or attraction ride.

I have had some guests get very upset that I am allowed to board a Walt Disney World bus before anyone else. There is a reason for this. It is easier to roll onto the bus and parallel park my wheelchair.

If there were guests boarding, it might be more difficult to drive forward, turn and reverse with so many feet around. And if guests were seating on either side of the rows their feet narrows the width of the aisle of the bus to drive forward and reverse to parallel park into the wheelchair spot.

For that very same reason, wheelchairs and mobility scooters exit the bus only after all the guests' exit first.

And these are just a few of the reasons that I like Walt Disney World Transportation.

But this is just my personal opinion.

I don't speak for anyone else.

 

[Moliphino]

Yeah, I'm in shock at what I'm reading on this thread. I haven't been to WDW before, and now I feel sick about how much is being spent to stay onsite. My brother wanted to stay off-site, but the rest of us talked him out of it — mostly for the "convenience" of the transportation and benefit of EMHs (which all got pushed up to 7 a.m., which I guess means we have to be at the bus stop before 6 a.m. to enjoy it, based on unpredictable bus times?). It didn't even occur to me that we'd have to build in more than 15-20 minutes for in-park transportation. I figured, It's Disney, you're spending the big bucks so they take good care of you, surely there will be a continuous flow of shuttles, surely this basic component of park operations will be dialed in.

Now I'm reading: An hour? Ninety minutes? Simply expect the transportation you paid a hefty premium for not to show up for 40 minutes? (The implication: If you're disappointed to waste hours of an expensive vacation at sweltering bus stops, you're being an unreasonable brat.) Sorry to be negative, but this is like the nth complication in this herculean planning process. Disneyland last year was absolutely lovely. One of the most thrilling surprises in all of my travels, ever. And so much less money for so much more ease. 5-10 minutes walk to the gate, parks right next to each other (among other things that were easier).

I'm just glad I read this because my family would be totally blindsided. We'd be missing dinner reservations and ditching plans left and right. We wouldn't be prepared to keep small children from melting down during long, hot lines when they're hungry and tired, just for a "convenient" bus ride. We would have assumed that an operation that requires food and attraction reservations to be scheduled months in advance also would have some semblance of a schedule for guests to get there, after they were promised transportation as a perk.

Waits longer than 20 minutes are not the norm and are even more unheard of in the morning and at park close. WDW is a huge area and it takes time to get from place to place, by car, bus, monorail, boat, etc.

 

[AngiTN]

Yeah, I'm in shock at what I'm reading on this thread. I haven't been to WDW before, and now I feel sick about how much is being spent to stay onsite. My brother wanted to stay off-site, but the rest of us talked him out of it — mostly for the "convenience" of the transportation and benefit of EMHs (which all got pushed up to 7 a.m., which I guess means we have to be at the bus stop before 6 a.m. to enjoy it, based on unpredictable bus times?). It didn't even occur to me that we'd have to build in more than 15-20 minutes for in-park transportation. I figured, It's Disney, you're spending the big bucks so they take good care of you, surely there will be a continuous flow of shuttles, surely this basic component of park operations will be dialed in.

Now I'm reading: An hour? Ninety minutes? Simply expect the transportation you paid a hefty premium for not to show up for 40 minutes? (The implication: If you're disappointed to waste hours of an expensive vacation at sweltering bus stops, you're being an unreasonable brat.) Sorry to be negative, but this is like the nth complication in this herculean planning process. Disneyland last year was absolutely lovely. One of the most thrilling surprises in all of my travels, ever. And so much less money for so much more ease. 5-10 minutes walk to the gate, parks right next to each other (among other things that were easier).

I'm just glad I read this because my family would be totally blindsided. We'd be missing dinner reservations and ditching plans left and right. We wouldn't be prepared to keep small children from melting down during long, hot lines when they're hungry and tired, just for a "convenient" bus ride. We would have assumed that an operation that requires food and attraction reservations to be scheduled months in advance also would have some semblance of a schedule for guests to get there, after they were promised transportation as a perk.

It's not on demand where you walk up and wish for a bus and one appears so of course there are going to be instances where you'll have to wait on a bus. I mean, come one now, how else can it work? The bus can't possibly know when you'll be arriving to your stop so there's bound to be instances where you'll be waiting on one to arrive. And many places physically take more than 15 min to drive between in your own vehicle. These places are miles apart, with traffic and stop lights.

I'm sorry but did you read the transportation information provided right there online when you made your reservations? It tells you plainly what to plan and expect. You should have never been blindsided. It's never immediate.

Here's what is says, verbatim (for an in park location)

Reminders
-
Reservation must be cancelled at least one day prior to avoid $10 per person cancellation and/or no show fee. Plan to arrive 5 minutes prior to your reservation time to check-in and allow up to 1.5 hours to travel to your destination when using Disney Transportation. Menu items, pricing, and hours are subject to change without notice and 18% gratuity will be automatically applied for parties of 6 or more. Characters are subject to change without notice. Special Seating Requests may be done upon arrival at the podium. This experience requires 1 Table Service Meal when using Disney Dining Plan. Valid Theme Park Admission required. If dining prior to Theme Park opening please be prepared to present your reservation number at Park entrance.
​

Otherwise, did you focus only on the negative reports? Ignore all the reports where people said they had no problems with using the transportation and got to their destinations without trouble and happily used it for many trips? You can find sour grapes for everything in the entire world but that doesn't mean that everything is rotten. It just means that nothing ever pleases everyone and someone will always have bad experiences and those are always the most vocal. You rarely have people report that everything worked perfectly and was just as it was supposed to be.

I think you are going to be surprised, if you can get rid of the negative views you've built up from this

 

[ErinAlb]

It's not on demand where you walk up and wish for a bus and one appears so of course there are going to be instances where you'll have to wait on a bus. I mean, come one now, how else can it work? The bus can't possibly know when you'll be arriving to your stop so there's bound to be instances where you'll be waiting on one to arrive. And many places physically take more than 15 min to drive between in your own vehicle. These places are miles apart, with traffic and stop lights.

I'm sorry but did you read the transportation information provided right there online when you made your reservations? It tells you plainly what to plan and expect. You should have never been blindsided. It's never immediate.

Here's what is says, verbatim (for an in park location)

Reminders
-
Reservation must be cancelled at least one day prior to avoid $10 per person cancellation and/or no show fee. Plan to arrive 5 minutes prior to your reservation time to check-in and allow up to 1.5 hours to travel to your destination when using Disney Transportation. Menu items, pricing, and hours are subject to change without notice and 18% gratuity will be automatically applied for parties of 6 or more. Characters are subject to change without notice. Special Seating Requests may be done upon arrival at the podium. This experience requires 1 Table Service Meal when using Disney Dining Plan. Valid Theme Park Admission required. If dining prior to Theme Park opening please be prepared to present your reservation number at Park entrance.
​

Otherwise, did you focus only on the negative reports? Ignore all the reports where people said they had no problems with using the transportation and got to their destinations without trouble and happily used it for many trips? You can find sour grapes for everything in the entire world but that doesn't mean that everything is rotten. It just means that nothing ever pleases everyone and someone will always have bad experiences and those are always the most vocal. You rarely have people report that everything worked perfectly and was just as it was supposed to be.

I think you are going to be surprised, if you can get rid of the negative views you've built up from this

Wow, what a smug and completely unhelpful response.